1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gas/liquid mixing device for mixing a gas into a liquid.
2. Description of Related Art
Examples of known gas/liquid mixing devices include the device disclosed in Patent Document 1 (herein below referred to as “first conventional device”) and the device disclosed in Patent Document 2 (herein below referred to as “second conventional device”). The first conventional device is provided with a Venturi tube and a device for generating magnetic force lines orthogonal to the flow of fluid passing through the Venturi tube, and is configured to mix another fluid with the fluid passing through the Venturi tube. It is made clear throughout Patent Document 1 that both fluids are electrically conductive, i.e., both fluids are liquids. Specifically, the first conventional device is designed to generate electromotive force in the fluids by Faraday's law of induction, by passing magnetic force lines through both the fluid (liquid) flowing through the Venturi tube and the other fluid (liquid), thereby activating the fluids and increasing their reaction rate with the reactant.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 2001-300278 (Paragraphs 0001 and 0015, FIGS. 1 and 2)
Patent Document 2: Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 2003-175324 (Paragraph 0005, FIG. 2)
Patent Document 2 discloses a gas/liquid mixing device that uses magnetic force (herein below referred to as the “second conventional device”). The second conventional device has a plurality of fins configured in conical shapes of magnetic members in a water supply tube, an orifice formed at the downstream end of the fins, and a gas supply tube whose opening is positioned downstream of the orifice. The configuration is designed so that the magnetic force of electromagnets acts on the fins from outside of the water supply tube, and the magnetic force causes the fins to move in the radial direction, allowing the diameter of the orifice to be adjusted.
However, in the first conventional device and the second conventional device described above, gases and liquids cannot be mixed together efficiently. Since the first conventional device uses magnetic force lines in order to create electromotive force in the fluid (liquid) by means of the law of electromagnetic induction to begin with, there is no leeway in the application of the device as a gas/liquid mixing device for gas/liquid mixing; i.e., for mixing together gases and liquids. This is because gases are not electrically conductive, unlike liquids. According to the second conventional device, since the liquid passes through the interior which is magnetically sealed by the magnetic fins, this is equivalent to a situation in which the magnetic force of the electromagnets does not propagate through the liquid passing through the passage enclosed by the fins. Furthermore, since the opening of the gas supply tube of the second conventional device is placed downstream of the orifice as described above, the opening is not in a position where the magnetic force of the electromagnets can proactively reach the gas passing through the opening and the gas sprayed out from the opening. Therefore, the electromagnets do not contribute in any way in improving the efficiency of gas/liquid mixing. These points are speculated to be the reasons that the gas and liquid cannot be mixed efficiently. One problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a gas/liquid mixing device capable of efficiently mixing gases and liquids.